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According to the Jerusalem Post, NGO Monitor is now targeting the wonderful +972 Magazine:
The Jerusalem-based watchdog organization NGO Monitor sharply criticized a large German foundation on Wednesday for funding left-leaning online magazine +972 .
Heinrich Böll Stiftung, a German think-tank affiliated with the Green Party, provided 6,000 euros to the magazine, which uses Israel’s international calling code number as its title.
Professor Gerald Steinberg, head of NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post that “Heinrich Böll’s decision to support +972 fulfills no humanitarian purpose and does not foster peace and mutual understanding.”
To say that 972 doesn’t foster peace and understanding shows how out of touch Steinberg is. Anyone who reads 972 regularly (as everyone should), will know that their correspondents are more committed to peace than the average, typically ambivalent Israeli. They’re working, day in, day out, trying to change minds. Yes, in the Diaspora, but also in their communities in Israel.
972 might be “biased” — they’re left-wing and not ashamed. They’re not scared to voice their opinion. They’re putting themselves out there. They’re not trying to be a objective news outlet, they’re trying to supplement traditional news outlets with partisan commentary. But, good on them. That’s what we need. They see the world, see changes that need to be made, and are trying to make them. If a German foundation wants to fund that, good on them! If someone wants to fund NGO Monitor and their crusade against freedom of speech in Israel, I disagree with them, but that’s their prerogative.
Noam Sheizaf, at 972, hit the nail on the head:
Had we gotten a chance to comment, this is what we would have said to NGO Monitor, the Jerusalem Post and anyone else trying to censor, threaten and silence voices that make them uncomfortable.
I just donated what I could to +972 Magazine. Given how much I read it (every day) and how much I link to it here (at least once a week), it’s the least I can do. Liberal Zionism, and Israel, would be poorer without them. I encourage you to give too.
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